Stethoscope



May 20, 1969 r. A. scANLoN sTE'rHoscOPE Filed Aug. 8, 1966 INVENTOR TH CMAS, ALBERT SCANLON ATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,444,954 STETHOSCOPE Thomas Albert Scanlon, Barrington, R-I., assignor to PM & E Electronics, Inc., East Providence, RJ., a corporation of Rhode Island Filed Aug. 8, 1966, Ser. No. 571,022 Int. Cl. A61b 7/02 U.S. Cl. 181-24 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Stethoscope with tubular arms pivotably and removably held in a sleeve.

This invention relates to stethoscopes and more particularly to a new construction which adds facility and longevity in the use of the stethoscope.

In the past a stethoscope was fabricated as a preformed rigid member with semi-rigid arms. The arms were rigidly fixed in a base with a preselected contour, so that the ear pieces, on the respective arms, would comfortably and securely nest in a persons ears. It was therefore possible to place the ear pieces backward or in reverse direction in a pair of ears. The stethoscope |was thereby rendered useless. The stethoscope had to be removed, reversed in direction and reset in the ears. This type of stethoscope was not only inconvenient to use, it resulted in frequent breakage of the tubular semi-rigid arms at the sleeve which held the tubular arms in relative xed position.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome these undesirable conditions in the construction and use of a stethoscope and similar head set articles used in sound carrying apparatus Another object of the present invention is to provide a stethoscope with a pair of relatively adjustable semirigid tubular arms.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a stethoscope fabricated from inexpensive, light weight plastic material.

And still another object of the present invention is to provide a stethoscope with relatively movable arms for convenience in packaging, shipping and carrying.

Other -objects of the present invention will become apparent in part and be pointed out in part in the following specification and claims.

Like reference numerals refer to like parts in the following drawings in which:

FIGURE l is a perspective view of the new and improved stethoscope in closed or packaged position.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the stethoscope in operative position with the semi-rigid tubular arms adjusted into selected position.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary, vertical, cross-sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIGURE 1, showing the construction of the new base.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view, illustrating the construction of the several parts which cooperate to form the base construction.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, a sound tube head set or stethoscope, indicated generally by reference numeral 10, includes two semi-rigid tubular arms 11 and 12 in bow form, and of separate acoustical or 3,444,954 Patented May 20, 1969 ICC sound wave passageway construction. Ear tips 13, 14 are fastened, respectively, on the ends of tubular arms 11, 12, by means of cement, heat sealing, drive t or the natural construction inherent in the material used to fabricate the ear tips; such as rubber, natural or synthetic.

Semi-rigid tubular arm 11 is provided with a bow shape which extends from the ear tip 13 to a collar 15. The bottom end of tubular arm 11 is generally straight. Collar 15 may be integrally formed as part of tubular arm 11 or it may Ibe a separate member attached to arm 11 or it may be dispensed with because it serves the function of providing a stop shoulder 21.

Tubular arm 11 is provided with a bearing area 17 and a reduced area 19. A shoulder 23 is formed at the juncture of bearing area 17 and reduced area 19.

A sleeve 25 is provided with two hollow passageways 27 and 28, which may be provided, respectively, with projections 29 and 30.

A sound collector, transducer or sound receiver (not shown) is connected, respectively, to sound tubes 31 and 32 fabricated from resilient material such as rubber, natural or synthetic and/ or plastic.

Bearing area 17 is inserted into hollow passageway 27 With stop shoulder 21 abutting the end of sleeve 25 when used. Projection 29 engages bearing area 17 to thereby create friction and therefore, a frictional engagement and a means for removably retaining tubular arm 11 within sleeve 25. Sound tube 31 is forced over reduced area 19 and is wedged in hollow passageway 27 between sleeve 25 and tubular arm 11. The wedging action provides a friction holding means for removably securing sound tube 31 lwithin sleeve 25.

In like manner, semi-rigid tubular arm 12 is provided with a bow shape which extends from ear tip 14 to a collar 15A. Tubular arm 12 is provided with a bearing area 17A and a reduced area 19A which create respectively, a stop shoulder 21A and a shoulder 23A. Bearing area 17A is inserted into hollow passageway 28 with stop shoulder 21A abutting the end of sleeve 25. Projection 30 engages bearing area 17A to thereby create friction and therefore, a frictional engagement and a means for removably retaining tubular arm 12 within sleeve 25. Sound tube 32 is forced over reduced area 19A and is wedged in hollow passageway 28 between sleeve 25 and tubular arm 12. The wedging action provides a friction holding means for removably securing sound tube 32 within sleeve 25.

Reference is now directed to FIGURE l, wherein the new and improved stethoscope is shown with semi-rigid tubular arms 11 and 12, abutting each other. This condi tion facilitates packaging, shipping and carrying in a medical bag.

Due to the frictional engagement of tubular arms 11 and 12 with sleeve 25, the arms may be separated and relatively adjusted one to another to accommodate a wearers ears. This position is shown in FIGURE 2. The tubular arms 11 and 12 are semi-rigid to permit ear tips 13, 14 to be separated one from the other to accommodate head space between ears.

When not in use the tubular arms 11 and 12 can be brought together from the position shown in FIGURE 2; to the position shown in FIGURE 1.

Having shown and described a preferred embodiment of the present invention, by way of example, it should be realized that structural changes could be made and other examples given without departing from either the spirit or scope of this invention.

What I claim is:

1. A stethoscope for conducting sound waves comprisinga pair of semi-rigid tubular arms, each tubular arm having a bearing area, a sleeve provided with two hollow passageways, one for each tubular arm, said bearing areas located, respectively, in said two hollow passageways, and means for frictionally retaining said hearing areas within said hollow passageways, each tubular arm having a collar provided -with a stop shoulder abutting said sleeve, and a reduced area, a portion of which is located in the hollow passageway, a shoulder formed at the juncture of said bearing area and said reduced area, and a pair of sound tubes, one for each tubular arm, inserted within said hollow passageways and over the respective, reduced areas.

4 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS 5/1958 France.

STEPHEN J. TOMSKY, Primary Examiner. 

